


Pure Imagination

by instantcoffee



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, Depression, M/M, Morality | Patton Sanders Needs a Hug, Platonic Relationships, Roman and Patton adventure into the Imagination, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23831035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/instantcoffee/pseuds/instantcoffee
Summary: Patton was the center of emotions, whether they were good or bad, and when he felt, boy did he feel. He feels emotions until he can’t feel his fingers and he can’t see past his nose. He hopes the others don’t notice, but there’s no denying that Patton was feeling - and he wasn’t feeling good.And Roman can tell. So he does the best thing he can think of: an adventure into the Imagination! Surely some fresh air would be good for the two of them.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	Pure Imagination

The first time Roman invited Patton into the Imagination, Patton wasn’t sure what to expect. He knew that Roman had an entire world at his fingertips, and how the Prince’s people adored every aspect of him. He also knew that the Imagination could be filled with very scary things.

Patton thought about the day Roman had asked him if he wanted to go on an adventure. He had been feeling not so spectacular, cooping himself up in his room and trying to ease the flow of emotions he felt whenever he glimpsed at the door to Memory Lane. Now isn’t the time, he chided himself silently. Looking at those memories won’t help you get better. 

But what will?

Patton didn’t know. He hated that he didn’t know, and he hated how it made him feel. All he knew was that his emotions were beginning to be too much to handle and it was overwhelming him to the point where he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to go out and make dinner for everyone, and he never missed making dinner. But he hurt too much to even fathom sitting up. His limbs were heavy and his eyes stung from the seemingly endless stream of tears that poured down his cheeks. His chest felt tight, painfully contracting in ways he didn’t understand. He hiccuped each breath, struggling to gather even a single coherent thought. God, he felt so weighted down, so useless. 

He hoped the other Sides hadn’t noticed his recent state. Patton knew there were dark circles under his eyes, only barely hidden by the thick rims of his glasses. He knew that sometime’s he wouldn’t eat as much at dinner, but it seemed like they were all preoccupied with their own projects that they hadn’t noticed. He knew that, compared to normal, he wasn’t filled with the usual enthusiasm that brightened the room. That was the biggest thing. 

Patton’s emotions were confusing. He wanted them to notice his pain so he could open up to them, but the thought of burdening them with his struggles left him with the cold fear of being overbearing and annoying. 

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there before he started feeling ready to move his limbs. They still felt heavy, and his movements were slow and sluggish, but with a great amount of effort he pulled himself up into a sitting position and slipped his glasses on his face. It took Patton another ten minutes to get up to make his way to the kitchen, and when faced with the actual making of the meal, he decided to go with easy-to-make Mac-and-Cheese. Can’t mess that up, right? 

During dinner itself, he tried his best to fill his bowl and finish it all, but he ended up discreetly picking at it with his fork for most of the time, only managing to shovel down about half. His stomach felt like stone as he listened to Logan ramble about upcoming deadlines and future projects. He didn’t offer any input, just waited until everybody had finished eating so he could hand his plate to Virgil so he could set it in the sink. Per their usual routine, Patton made dinner, Virgil cleared the table, Roman wiped it down and Logan washed the dishes. 

Patton excused himself as soon as he felt was reasonable. He hadn’t spent long in it looking through an old scrapbook when he heard a knock at the door. Jumping at the noise, he stood to open the door, calling out a “just a second!” before opening the door to see Roman. 

“Hey, Patton! Are you busy right now?” Roman asked. Patton noted that he had his sword hung on his waist. That usually meant he was going on an adventure somewhere.  
Patton gestured to the book laying on his bed. “Not really, kiddo, just looking through some old scrapbooks. What’s up?” 

“I was wondering if you’d like to take a trip into the Imagination with me! I’ve been craving a more peaceful sense of adventure. That sense of adventure is best paired with a partner.”  
Patton felt dumbfounded. Roman had never asked him to go into the Imagination with him! What made today so different? He wasn’t sure what to say until he managed to sputter out words. “Well, sure, kiddo! I’d love to!” 

Roman’s face brightened. “Great! Come now, the door to the Imagination is through my room.” He gestured down the hall to Roman’s red door, waiting for Patton to take a few steps before he followed. When they entered his room, Roman immediately sauntered over to a large door on the far wall. It, too, was red, with many intricate gold details, and a gold doorknob. Patton took a quick glance over the room itself. Extravagant as always, larger than it needed to be with a king size canopy bed, all with red and gold. Patton spared small chuckle to himself. Roman was always showing off in any way possible. Many items were displayed along the walls, but before he could look at them clearly, Roman cleared his throat. 

“I introduce to you… the Imagination!” With a raise of his arm, the door swung open and exposed them to Roman’s realm. “Are you ready to adventure, Padre?” 

Patton took a moment to take in what he could see through the door. A small stone path lead into an open field, but he couldn’t see much farther than that. He could smell grass and lavender wafting in through the doorway, and heard the rustle of leaves in the wind. He nodded, excited, but a little nervous too. He wasn’t sure what to expect. 

Roman smiled wide, the twinkle in his eyes twice as bright than before. “Well then, lets not keep adventure waiting!” He gestured for Patton to walk through. Gingerly, Patton stepped through. He was only four steps in when he heard the door come to a close behind him, the noise causing him to turn around. Roman was behind him. Something was different about him; the way he held himself up so proudly made him seem so royal. It made him seem happier, too, and that alone made Patton’s day better. Of course, some of the changes Patton noticed were literal, too. The biggest was the crown upon his head, gold and red and magnificent in every way imaginable. 

“Different, huh?” Roman asked him when Patton found himself staring. 

Patton nodded, breaking his stare to talk to Roman. “Yeah, it’s different. But look at you! You look so… so… royal! You look like a real prince, Roman.” 

That earned a laugh from Roman. “I am a real prince. Come on, let me show you something.” He stepped in front of Patton, taking the lead in their walk through the field. Birds flew high above their heads, animals came in and out of sight, and the sun shone down onto them, but Patton wasn’t hot at all. The cluster of forest that surrounded the field opened ahead of them, and Patton squinted his eyes to see what sat beyond the endless acres of grass. To his surprise, he saw a village. Many small houses sat down below the hill of a castle, scattered between what Patton thought to be shops and stores. He could see people scurry about like ants in their colony, traveling from building to building. 

His eyes followed what looked like the main road, up out of the valley to the large castle. It, in what Patton could only call classic Roman fashion, was white, with details etched in gold shining in the sun along the roof and windows. It was magnificent. Patton blinked, staring at the whole scene before him.  


“Roman, is that yours?” He asked, stopping for a second to face the prince. “That’s so cool! You didn’t tell us you have your own kingdom, kiddo!” 

Roman smiled broadly. “Of course I do, Patton! What would a prince be without a kingdom to rule?” 

“Can we go down there? I want to see what it’s like!” Patton asked, eagerly bouncing on his toes while he awaited Roman’s answer. Patton loved to see new things and explore new places. They made a good distraction, and when he wasn’t feeling upset he took the time to genuinely enjoy the experience. He especially loved to see new things that made the other Sides happy. In fact, seeing each side happy on their own was enough to make Patton’s heart swell with joy; that’s why he tried his best to figure out what brings out the joy in each Side. 

So when Patton couldn’t stop smiling as they walked through the village’s center. Many citizens stopped to bow in the presence of Roman, who took great pride in their affection. Some even bowed towards Patton, who sheepishly tried to explain that he wasn’t royalty, to which Roman replied: “Nonsense, Patton! You’re just royalty from another realm; a noble visiting a fair friend’s kingdom!” 

It took Patton a while to warm up to their behavior. It was weird; Patton wasn’t anything special, so why should they treat him as if he was? 

Within what he figured was around ten minutes, they had finally made it up to the castle. Patton stared up at it in all it’s glory, then watched Roman strut to the entryway in a very comfortable manner. Right, he reminded himself, this is his realm. He’s here almost every day when he can be here. 

Patton righted himself, shyly following Roman up to the door. It swung open, the only sound coming from the push of the air whistling against the door. Two knights, clad in silver and gold armor with a crest identical to the one on Roman’s suit, greeted Roman with a bow. Waving a hand in dismissal, Roman turned to Patton, gesturing for him to follow. “C’mon, Padre. I’ll give you a tour - I’m sure you’d like to see where I spend a vast amount of my time. 

So Patton followed. He didn’t talk much, but tried his best to keep his energy up to show Roman his enthusiasm towards each room he was shown. 

After a while, the rooms began to blur together. Patton couldn’t remember a lot of them, but one did stick out in his memory. He couldn’t remember what Roman called it, but he remembered almost everything about it. The walls were decorated with pieces of art. Paintings and drawings covered almost everything. The only table in the room was coated in splatters of paint, worn down by what looked like years of work happening on it. Paint was on the floor, too, with crumpled sheets of paper. Papers filled with what Patton was pretty sure was sheet music were scattered on top of the table. An easel with a half-finished painting sat in the back corner. Various instruments that he couldn’t name were on a display along the right-hand wall. 

“This is where I create, when the village isn’t in mortal peril from that cursed dragon witch.” Roman told Patton as he stepped into the room. “Every idea I’ve ever had - no matter how big or small - has been written, drawn, painted, sculpted or sung here. This is my workspace, as messy as it seems.” 

“Oh, wow.” Patton pushed up his glasses, looking around the room. “I never knew you had a workspace here. I always just thought you worked from your room.” 

Roman laughed. “Dearest Patton, why wouldn’t I take advantage of my castle to work in it?” When Patton shrugged, Roman continued, “It’s a lot easier to avoid being distracted by others when you’re a little more isolated. I tend to get a lot of work done on days where I spend a lot of time here. I suppose you perceive things differently than I, though, which is a shame. The inspiration that ebbs from the walls here is nearly overwhelming. Good thing I’m Prince Roman, and am strong enough to not be overpowered by such a thing.” 

They moved on from touring the castle after that, instead opting to visit what Roman considered one of his favorite spots in the imagination. A lake, a small walk away through the woods just west of his kingdom. They spent the walk there taking a slow pace, discussing Roman’s abilities in this realm. 

“But if you control everything here, why would you make bad things like the dragon witch?” Patton asked, stopping momentarily to watch a butterfly flutter it’s soft blue wings, resting peacefully on the trunk of a tree. 

Roman stopped as well. “I didn’t really create the dragon witch,” he started. “It began appearing in times where I found my creations weren’t fulfilling anymore. I was scared that everything I would create would never satisfy me to my likings. And from that fear, enemies like the dragon witch came about.” He began walking again, and Patton followed, intrigued by what the Prince was saying. “So I used it to my advantage. I began fighting it before it could ruin my precious work. My castle and village, everyone and everything inside, I made, and I can’t let it destroy what I’ve already worked so hard to create.” 

There was a moment of silence. Patton looked to Roman with wide eyes, but the Prince just stared at the path ahead. “Oh, Roman. I never knew that.” He said gently. 

Roman shrugged and continued walking, keeping his gaze straight ahead. “I don’t tell these things a lot, Padre. I feel like it’s about time that I started opening up to you guys.” 

Patton nodded, keeping pace beside him. Gingerly, he reached out and grabbed Roman’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “You can tell me anything, Roman. But take your time - I would never want to rush you before you’re ready.” Roman squeezed his hand back before letting his own drop to his side. 

“Thanks, Patton. It means a lot.” 

They walked along the path in silence after that. Nothing felt awkward or weird. Just a comfortable silence. They reached the lake, a beach opening up to a vast body of water with crystal clear water, sun reflecting off of it beautifully. Patton enjoyed the view as he watched swans swim cross the water, and could see fish swim below. A gentle breeze blew across the sand as they both made their way to a small grassy patch further behind the beach. “You seem down, Pat.” He looked over at Patton, eyes shining with concern as they sat down. 

Patton almost immediately felt his heart sink. He didn’t want anyone to notice how he was feeling - not even himself, if he was being honest. Patton just shrugged. 

Roman chuckled, which shocked Patton. Why would he laugh? Patton looked to Roman, who just shook his head. “You don’t get to play that game, Padre.” 

Confusion crossed Patton’s face. “What game?” 

“The game,” Roman said, pointing at Patton, “where you pretend like you don’t know something is wrong. I can see it at dinner, Patton. You’ve got bags under your eyes worse than I get when I stay up working on my projects. You look so tired all the time, and if I’m being entirely honest, I don’t think I’ve heard you make a dad joke in the last week!” 

Patton’s eyes widened, and he found himself stumbling to make up an excuse. “I’ve made jokes within the last week! You just haven’t heard them! I’ve been busy in my room because I’m… well, I’m reorganizing! Yeah! All my scrapbooks are starting to get cluttered and I was going to sort them out so that I could-” 

“Patton.” The prince said sternly. He looked into Patton’s eyes, gaze softening as he said gently, “Please don’t lie to me. I know that being sad is scary - scarier than the dragon witch, even - but you shouldn’t have to hide it. I’m not a cure for your sadness, but I really do want to help. But I don’t know how to help unless you tell me what you need - and tell me what’s wrong.” 

Patton let his words sink in for a moment, looking down at his feet. Taking a shaky breath, he asked, “I don’t know how to explain it, I think. It’s just.. I don’t know.” 

“Okay… then let me ask you this, Pat.” Roman said, adjusting himself so he was sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “How does it feel physically? I don’t want to hear about emotions, alright?” 

Weird, Patton thought, but answered, “Well, it’s heavy. It’s hard to move and when I do, it takes so much energy that I don’t think I can do it.” He thought for a moment. “And my head feels stuffy constantly. It feels like there’s a bunch of pressure and any minute it’s gonna explode, and my chest gets all twisty and feels knotted until I can’t breathe. I can’t stop thinking, but all I want to do is lie down and stop thinking just a second. My hands feel staticky all the time, and so do my feet. Sometimes I don’t think my glasses work, too, but it’s just my eyes hurting because I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking and it hurts too much to even comprehend sometimes.” Patton couldn’t ignore the tears welling up in his own eyes again. He rubbed them with the back of his hands, trying to stop the waterworks from pouring over. 

He felt a hand on his back, Roman’s hand gently doing light circles over the fabric of his shirt. Sniffling, Patton asked, “Can I lean on you?” 

Roman nodded, chuckling softly. “Of course you can, Padre.” So Patton leaned onto his shoulder, wiping his eyes again as they got watery. “I can’t imagine how that feels, Patton, and I literally am the embodiment of imagination and creativity. But you know, you don’t have to go through this alone. You can come to me - or Virgil or Logan, even! I know that Logan likes to pretend he doesn’t have emotions and all, but I’m sure would love to get you a cup of hot chocolate when you need, or help you with dinner if you need to take a break sometime. You can talk to him, too. He’s not a robot, even if he won’t admit it.” 

Patton smiled softly. “No, he really isn’t a robot. And… I will, if I need to. Thank you, Roman.” 

“Anytime, Padre.”

And after that, the lake became the place they most often went to. Sometimes it was because Patton was feeling down and wanted to talk to Roman. Sometimes, Roman got into a creative block, feeling utterly uninspired to create anything. So they would sit at the lake, Patton with a glass of lemonade or a cookie (maybe two), Roman with canvas and paint at the ready. Patton would begin to spiel out a memory in his head. Good ones, usually. With the memories Patton gave, Roman would try his best to paint his own version of what he heard. Most of them were splattered with color and life, because that’s how Patton described his happy memories. But sometimes, there were sadder memories that were on Patton’s mind. When Patton would describe those, Roman did his best to see the beauty in the memory, or the lesson taught from it. Once in a while, Roman wouldn’t like the work he created. He’d want to rip it up or throw it in the lake or set it on fire, but Patton wouldn’t let him. He’d point out every detail he could think of that he absolutely loved, because how could a lovely prince like Roman actually be bad at his biggest passion? He couldn’t! And Patton made sure he knew that, all in hope that Roman would find something in every artwork he made to be proud of. 

Patton wasn’t fixed. Nobody is ever cured right away. But things got better when he was able to share his struggles openly with everyone. Virgil understood him the best. Sometimes, if Patton really couldn’t get up that day, Virgil would sneak into Patton’s room with a bottle of water and a snack for him, laptop at the ready to play a movie. 

Logan helped Patton more than anyone could have predicted. He made Patton a set of flashcards with different types of coping mechanisms and quotes of reassurance; every time Patton felt like he needed one, he’d pluck one off of his bedside table and read it to himself. 

No, Patton wasn’t fixed. He wasn’t fixed at all, he reminded himself, because he was never broken. So while he couldn’t be fixed, he felt better. He had a support system of people who cared, and that was all he could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! this is my first work on ao3 and any love you can give it is appreciated!


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